More Development Studies Needed on Glenn Dale Hospital Site

Following a 2018 feasibility study to potentially re-purpose Glenn Dale Hospital site, exercises are set to take place to find newer reuse plans outside of the county’s desire to make the area into a retirement community.

The hospital opened as a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1934. It was specifically constructed to deal with the outbreak of the disease in the Metropolitan area, treating children before expanding to include adult care. Upon its opening, U.S. Surgeon General Thomas Parran, Jr. called Glenn Dale “the most up-to-date and complete institution of its kind in the country.” In 1960, Glenn Dale began to helped patients with long-term and chronic illnesses once newer methods of treating tuberculosis allowed people to be cured at home.

The hospital site contains 23 buildings that sit on a 60-acre campus. All the buildings have been dealing with deterioration issues since its closing in 1982 due to asbestos. Since then, the hospital grounds have become an area for urban explorers to frequent. The hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2011 and Preservation Maryland placed the aging facility on its threatened historical properties list.

When the property was sold by the District of Colombia to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) in 1995, the state regulated that the property would have to turn into a CCRC, which is the administered by the Maryland Department of Aging. CCRCs offer continuing care and, depending on the provider, provide full coverage nursing care in an on-site health center.

David Vos, development project manager for the Alexander Company, said licensing limitations and a size-able financial gap limit the county from establishing the site as a once the buildings are remodeled for reuse.